The Gifted (Txt x Itzy)

六十二

"Wh...what?" Ryujin muttered as she struggled to sit up, "What the heck did you do to us?"

The girl exhaled heavily, then turned to Se Jin, "You wanna tell them or do I do it?"

Se Jin beamed, "She's my sister!"

The girl laughed lightly, as if she was offered flowers and had not casually stabbed and disabled five people. "That's right Se Jinnie, do you want to tell them my name?"

Another smile, "Seri!"

Seri mirrored her sister's smile and leaned down to peer into Ryujin's eyes, hazy with pain. "I outweigh your gift by far, my snakes-" She paused to gesture to the snakes wound around her wrists, "-have venom far more powerful than your weak little puppeteering. They can practically cancel it out. Oh, and that thought alteration thing." She gave a small sigh of relief as her snakes sleepily retracted their fangs, "Of course, it comes with its downsides. Snakes on your wrist, the inability to stop this shaking-" she once more swished her hands in the air, where they quivered and tremored. "-once the venom wears off."

"Why do you do this?" Yuna coughed out, "You're like us. Why do you side with them?"

"Why?" Seri asked, her voice twitching up, dragging madly, "Because I can get rid of these parasites." Her snakes blinked their filmy eyes at her. "I'm not going to live to twenty, you know," Seri said, her words wobbling, "And I'm nineteen this year. If I help these humans, they will give me and my sister a cure, but not until I let them use my sister first."

"There's nothing wrong with your sister-"

"You don't know anything," Seri seethed.

"When I say I'm not going to live until twenty, my sister won't live for much longer either. She was born with a clock counting down, and if I don't cure her she's going to die," Seri said, her eyes suddenly pleading, "She's five. Only five. So, just let me save her."

"Seri-" Jisu choked out.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Yeji managed to whisper out, before her body went slack and her vision darkened.

-

"Yeji," her mother's honey-warm voice cooed, distant but there. Her crow's feet crinkled gently, signs of the time. "Eomma!" She cried out happily, just a little girl. Her mother bent down, and Yeji flung herself into her arms. She stroked her mother's smooth bald head, giggling lightly. Her mother's eyes were clouded with emotion, which she couldn't figure out at that age but she knew it now-pain. No heartache or anything cheesy like that, real, true physical pain. But happiness still shone through her face, her pale stick-like fingers smoothening her daughter's hair. "I have somewhere to go soon," Her mother said gently, "I may not be able to see you during that time. Will you and your father be okay?"

"Yes!" Young Yeji chirped enthusiastically.

"Good, good." Her mother's voice was weaker, delicate and fractured, full of relief and tears.

"Yeji, I love you."

I love you too

-

"Yeji!"

Ryujin turned despairing eyes to Seri, "Please, do something, can you heal them-"

"I'm sorry," Seri's eyes were cold but watery, her hand slipping through Se Jin's little one, "But I have to save my sister." Taehyun laboriously lifted himself up, then dragged his half-paralysed body to Jisu, "She's alive, and so is Yuna, can you check if Yeji-"

"Taehyun!" Chaeryeong shouted as she ran down the hallway, the other four sprinting to their side as well, "What the fuck happened-"

"Who the fuck-" Yeonjun's eyes flashed with anger as he lifted his gaze to meet Seri's. "You."

Seri made a microscopic nod, "You have to understand."

Then she dashed away with Se Jin in tow, singing gibberish, her words echoing through the corridor.

Without your love, she'll be gone forever

Save pity for strangers, show love to the door.

My soul seek the shade of my willow's bloom

Inside, brother mine -

Let Death make a room.

Yeonjun made a move to run after them but Kai pulled him down, "Wait. They-Yeji needs your help."

Yeonjun stayed down, clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles bleached white.

"Okay, okay," Kai gingerly touched Yeji's arm, "It's broken, and she has been stabbed, but it's really mild, just a scratch, almost, she's alive-oh man, I wish we had Minghao-"

"Forget that, what can we do now," Yeonjun snapped.

"She'll be fine for now, just bandage it until we can get her to a doctor or something, and make a sling for her arm."

Yeji groaned softly, and managed to sit up, blood oozing through her fingers. "You...should stay down," Ryujin said slowly, wincing as a trickle of blood dribbled onto the ground.

"How did...how did you guys get in this situation?" Beomgyu asked helplessly.

"We-"

"Forget that, we need to get the girl," Taehyun muttered, "I can move now, the venom is wearing off."

"But, Seri may have a point," Yuna weakly said, "Se Jin needs the cure."
"The cure's not permanent," Taehyun reminded, "She'll have to keep taking it. And then Yanan would suffer."

Yeonjun's eyes flashed murderously, "I'm gonna go after her." Without further ado, he sprinted down the corridor. "I'll go with him," Chaeryeong decided, and chased after him. Yeji exhaled shakily, "I'm okay, I can move now-"

"You should stay still, your arm-"

"I'm fine," Yeji hissed weakly through clenched teeth. Kai heaved a sigh of relief, "Well, the good news is that a broken arm is easier to treat than snake venom of which we have no antidote for."

"Yeah, yeah, do you have any bandage or cloth of any sort-"

Jisu tore her thin jacket up into strips without hesitation, the fabric quickly wound over Yeji's wound.

"Great," Jisu sighed, "Now we need to go. Will they be safe?"

"Sure they would," Taehyun said, "But right now our priority is getting the hell out of here."

"Sure thing, captain."

"Don't call me that."

(AN: song is adapted from Sherlock Holmes.)